Workers Barely Avoid Concrete Beams Falling on their Heads

Construction workers had to scramble to get out of the way of five concrete beams, each measuring 125 feet in length and weighing about 93 tons, when they came tumbling down while a skeleton construction crew was working over the weekend.

Only one of the workers suffered any injuries. He had one superficial wound on one hand and refused transport to a hospital. There were no traffic closures and airport operations continued normally.

The construction crew was working on a new runway that is scheduled to open sometime in 2014. The massive beams were a part of a support structure of a tunnel that will run underneath the airport’s future expanded runway.

This is not the first accident at the site since the project broke ground on April. Last month, a worker was pinned between his truck and a backhoe. The worker survived the incident.

Officials at the airport indicate that in spite of the concrete beam collapse, it will not cause any postponement in the construction of the runway expansion. The incident is currently under investigation. Engineers were at the site Saturday night in order to determine why the beams might have fallen.

It is very fortunate that no one was seriously injured or even killed in the accident. On construction or other high-risk job sites, on-the-job injuries can happen for many reasons. Some accidents happen because of worker negligence or a worker having failed to take proper safety precautions. Construction job sites statistically have a much higher number of workplace injuries.

When you are hurt on the job, the injuries that result can make for a difficult situation financially, both for you and your family. When you are off the job, there is always the worry about a potential loss of income. It is a sad truth that there are unfortunately some unscrupulous employers who will simply terminate injured employees rather than compensate them for their injuries on the job. Even when a worker comes back to the job, some companies will attempt to do everything that they can in order to get that employee to quit. Other times they simply may change the rules so that the odds are always in the favor of the employer.

The law protects employees who are injured while on the job. You do have rights that are guaranteed even when you are hurt. Most labor laws were written to protect both the injured employees and the employers. Even with Workman’s Compensation in play, and when every party acts in good faith, for some on the job injury cases, litigation is the only way that a personal injury case can be settled fairly.

If you have been injured on the job, give our offices a call. Before you sign a statement with your employer or workman’s compensation or insurance, you need a legal representative with years of experience with on-the-job accident cases. We have years of experience in successfully representing our clients in the Florida courts and we are here to help you. Your initial consultation is confidential. It’s free and you are under no obligation.

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